runaway

American  

[ruhn-uh-wey] / ˈrʌn əˌweɪ /

noun

1. a person who runs away; fugitive; deserter.

2. a horse or team that has broken away from control.

3. the act of running away.

4. a decisive or easy victory.

5. a young person, especially a teenager, who has run away from home.

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adjective

1. having run away; escaped; fugitive.

2. (of a horse or other animal) having escaped from the control of the rider or driver.

3. pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping.

   a runaway marriage.

4. easily won, as a contest.

   a runaway victory at the polls.

   Synonyms:

   complete, absolute

5. unchecked; rampant.

   runaway prices.

6. Informal. deserting or revolting against one's group, duties, expected conduct, or the like, especially to establish or join a rival group, change one's life drastically, etc..

   The runaway delegates nominated their own candidate.

Etymology

Origin of runaway

First recorded in 1505–15; noun, adj. use of verb phrase run away

Example Sentences

At that time, the ECB faced fierce criticism for failing to hike borrowing costs quickly enough to tame runaway price rises.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

That debate would have triggered a discussion about the cost of runaway benefits, which would have reined in the size of benefit checks long ago.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

There may be little that Blackstone BX 0.23%increase; green up pointing triangle or BlackRock BLK 0.23%increase; green up pointing triangle can do to stop the runaway train of negativity about private credit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

The runaway success of Messy may have eclipsed her other songs, but she shouldn't be seen as a one-hit wonder.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

I had to hold onto his collar and squeeze him up tight to keep him from having a runaway.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• rampant
• unbridled
• unchecked
• uncontrolled
• unrestrained